I don't know what to choose... I like the stainless steel look but i'd like to have sapphire glass, so, the only choice should be titanium gray with sapphire glass but it costs 150€ more... In any case i always put a screen protector on, so, maybe, sapphire glass is not so much important... I read also that sapphire glass has less visibility... It is also true that i'm a kind of person that always buy a new version (i owned Fenix 2, 3, Epix, Fenix 5X...), so the screen it does not have to last forever, maybe next year i'll go for Fenix 6... However, what do you think about it?
It always seemed to me that the screen looked much better behind sapphire glass. I also had a FR935 (plastic screen?) and each time it would get dirty with sweat and human natural oil (after some accidental fingers on the screen) it just could not compare with a sapphire glass of the fenix 5. It seems that the plastic on the 935 gets dirty much easier and its a bit harder to clean than the sapphire. So I always go for the sapphire version now.
I said I had the Forerunner 935 that had anything but a glass screen (more like a plastic one - to save weight I presume?) and you are showing me a comparison between two glass screens (mineral and sapphire) for which the difference is just in terms of durability to scratches. To be honest I see it as pretty much mandatory in an expensive sports watch considering scratches are not covered by warranty. But If you are not that kind of power user that scratches his "possessions" frequently I don't think it would make any difference. I chipped 2 of my former Garmin plastic screen watches one hitting the side of the pool and one off a door so yeah ... no more plastic or mineral glass for me.
I've yet to hear someone with a non-saphire model complain about scratches on the lens. Typically, the people who go straight to saphire are the ones singing its praises. :P
I have a friend that got a 5 without sapphire. He scratched it the first day he owned it.
I have the 935 with a glass screen protector that functions very well - I much prefer a lighter watch. For my previous watches the only one I have scratched was the 920 and that was the bezel that suffered not the screen. I think it just depends on the user some are more prone to damage than others :) - just think of how many people seem to manage to break the screen of their phones
Some things I gathered from a recent convo with Garmin.
1. Sapphire indeed looks a tad darker than non sapphire.... however has tremendous benefits if you want a watch that beats the years.... Sapphire is virtually indestructible, and in a small lens as on a watch, since there are no bending issues.
It would need a tremendous hit of substantial energy to break it, otherwise it stays pristine. Sapphire is hard to produce in large screens and very expensive in sizes such as cell phones or larger, so Corning really has no competition except for watches.
The Series 5 & 6 uses Gorilla Glass 3 with a special coating, but Gorilla Glass 6 is already being produced in other venues so Sapphire could go the way of the Dinosaur in time but for now its fabulous IMO.
I can wear a watch for years and the sapphire lens looks brand new regardless of the rest of the watch.
2. The fix for being darker = simply turn up the brightness a tad, or set it so the backlight comes on when you raise your hand or flick your wrist. A simple push of a button suffices to do the same thing too.
Bright screens only need to be bright when you look at them.... direct sunlight makes the reflective screen even brighter and in dim conditions, a "constant on" bright screen would not only take a toll on battery but would be annoying in certain environments such as a theater without readjusting every time.
;Regardless, With the great battery life of Garmin "especially series 6", you can afford to splurge and turn the brightness up a tad if you like to offset anything the sapphire lens may take away.
I had the regular non Sapphire Fenix 5 and loved it, it fell a few times, nothing happened to the screen, the bezel is raised above the screen so it really protects it. I bought the Fenix 5 Plus Sapphire edition for the only reason that I wanted a black bezel and that was the only option, and I most say I much prefer the non sapphire, I don’t know if it is me but the sapphire glass seems darker and oily, like I find myself constantly whipping it.
If I get the the Fenix 6 I will most definitely get non sapphire but that’s just me.
Sapphire is a tad darker, so the display is slightly harder to see in darker environments when not illuminated. Also sapphire is harder than glass so it's more prone to shatter if hit in the wrong angle. I have the glass 5 Plus with a screen protector on it and the screen protector doesn't have any scratches at all. Also the protector makes the lens almost flush with the bezel which I like very much.
(Of course, if I paid extra to have a sapphire crystal, I'd praise it, too.)
